Spezza never even thought twice about taking on the tough defenceman, which earned him high praise from both his coaches and teammates.

"What I liked was he jumped in for his teammate," said Clouston. "He showed he wants to be a team guy and that goes a long way in the dressing room and it shows he's willing to try and work on his game and work on his overall persona."

Spezza picked up 17 minutes in penalty time and was missed, but everyone believed he did the right thing.

"I thought it was a great job by Spezza," said Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson. "We don't want him in the box, but he showed a lot of character."

While Spezza is hardly known for his physical style of play Phaneuf shrugged off the novelty of the situation.

"Hits are still part of the game and fights are still part of the game so you guys will make a big deal of it, but it's still part of the game," said Phaneuf. "He's a big guy and he's going to stick up for his teammates and that's what he did."

The Flames considered the win a much worthier topic.

"With such a long road trip it's nice to get off to a good start and not two losses in a row," Iginla said. "It's great to see the young guys come up and play so well. It's a huge boost for our team."

The Flames (38-19-6) were led by Moss and Warren Peters, who scored his first NHL goal.